Bittersweet Chocolate
by Macahol84
Summary: Collection of Angsty, introspective one-shots. **New Chapter based off of new promo **
1. Over

Over.

He was done.

Rick Caste was staring across the bull pen of the 12th precinct at Katherine Beckett, his muse and inspiration. He watched as she sat on the edge of her desk. He watched as the Robbery Detective from two floors down walked over and whispered in her ear. And watched as her gaze shifted and landed on him. He returned the gaze knowing he had lost.

He was done.

He stared at his computer willing the words to come out. The silence in his loft normally welcomed just proved his thoughts to be true. He was alone. His daughter was leaving for a college trip and he went to say good-bye. Good-Bye. That seemed to be happening a lot recently. His mother had moved out, his daughter was traveling more, and he was leaving the 12th precinct soon. He was alone.

He was done.

The blank page stared at him as the phone's ring cut through the silence. Paying it no attention, he continued his staring. The door's buzzer was far more intrusive than the ring. Waking Rick from his trance. He slowly walked to the door pulling it open with caution. His guest was none other than Gina, his ex-wife and publisher. He knew she was here to harass him. His newest novel being late. He knew this was her intent so he remained quiet. Waiting. She studied the apartment. She studied his appearance. And she studied him. Then she hugged him. He was surprised and didn't know what to do before he succumbed to the hug himself. They broke apart and moved to the couch where they talked for hours. As friends. Not just business partners.

He was done.

He sat at a table in the 12th precinct looking at the faces of those who had become his friends over the last year. They smiled and laughed about past events all but one. Where she currently was was a mystery. She's most likely with her boyfriend he thought bitterly. He had lost. Rick Castle knew he wasn't what she wanted. He only wished she knew she was everything he desired. His desire walked through the door and headed straight for the drinks. Her best friend babbled on about how she can hold her liquor but it was all white noise to him. She turned and asked to speak with him in private. He stood and silently followed her out of the room.

He was done.

It was important. He could tell from her face. He wondered if this was the same expression he wore in the hospital so many months before. She began talking about their partnership. All things he knew before. Then she was interrupted. Gina had arrived at six o'clock. Just like he told her too. She said they were going to the Hamptons. For the summer. The same Hamptons they were supposed to go to for the weekend. Gina offered an excuse of traffic and the two turned to leave. She had lost.

She was done.

It was over.


	2. One

One.

One Detective Kate Beckett sat on the edge of her desk staring at the single murder board. There was information written in long columns four across. Pictures scattered throughout. A set of footsteps approaching.

One.

She knew it was one of her team members. She could tell the difference. The way the steps were taken. The distinction of pressure each foot was given. It was Castle. She could tell now as he approached closer.

One.

One mystery writer stood next to the single murder board. He wore a simple smile as he took the final steps to be in her presence. That's when she noticed it. One, single cup of coffee. To go. There was no latte hiding behind his back. No bear claw hanging in a bag. Just one single cup of coffee. It felt like a slap in the face seeing the cup and yet she couldn't bring herself to look away. He didn't want her any longer. Didn't need her in his life. That is what the simple single cup was telling her.

She was one.

She had lost him.

And she was now alone.


	3. Fault

"You don't get it!" Rick yelled as he spun from his path to his office.

"Well I might if you bothered talking with me. Ever since the funeral and the shooting you keep yourself in your office and we never see you!" Martha yelled right back at him. Her usual dramatic flair absent from the conversation that is well over due.

Rick felt his anger bubbling beneath his skin. "Everything that's happen is all because of me!"

Martha winced at the anger she hurt in his voice. She knew it wasn't directed at her but rather just self hatred her son felt for himself. "How can you say that?"

"Before I came along, Kate was ok with her mother's case being unsolved. She had learned to get past it. Then I pushed and got Dr. Holloway involved and discovered new leads. Those leads lead us to Coonan and Coonan lead us to Lockwood. Now Montgomery is dead and Kate is in a hospital barely hanging onto life and it's all my fault," Rick hung his head as he turned back to his office door. He could feel his emotions coming back and needed another drink to dull the pain again.

"Richard if you go in that room so help me, I will take Alexis and we will walk out of here tonight," Martha warned him. It had been five days since the funeral and since then she can count on one hand the amount of times her son has left his office. He went to the hospital with Kate initially but when Josh had shown up to perform her surgery, Rick bowed out and went home locking himself in his office. Rick turned to look at his mother. "This is not your fault."

"How?"

Martha took a deep breath and studied her son. Hurt etched into his face deeper then she had ever seen before. Letting out a sigh, she said the hardest words. "It is mine." Rick looked at her confused as she suddenly picked a spot on the floor to stare at. "This was always lerking in the background for Kate no matter how much she wanted to tell you she had let it go. Yes you decided to look into the case further and contacted Dr. Holloway but it wasn't you who decided to pursue it after that."

She looked up into his eyes and took a calming breath. "Do you remember the night that you found the new leads?" Rick nodded slowly. "Do you remember that it was I who encouraged you to tell Kate?"

Rick's eyes got wider as he recalled his mother's words. _You have information that could lead to her mother's killer. You can't keep that from her._


	4. Voicemail

It was nearly two o'clock in the morning as Kate Beckett stared around the room. Logically she knew that she should be sleeping but every time she closed her eyes, memories of that night flashed through her mind. It had been fifteen years yet the memories we still crisp. The flashing lights of the police cruiser, the forsaken look on her father's face, the monotone speech the detective gave, it all was vivid in her mind.

Heaving a sigh, Kate pushed the blankets from her and got out of bed. She slipped her robe on as she grabbed her phone and walked out into the living room. It was quiet at this hour. Almost as if the city had slowed down. It never stopped entirely. That was just unheard of but at this hour, there was a certain level of peacefully silence that greeted those suffering from insomnia.

Curling into the corner of the couch, Kate held her phone close to her chest. It had been fifteen years. Kate looked down at the phone. She rang her finger over the screen silently bringing the phone out of its hibernation. Tapping a few keys brought her to the dial keypad. Her finger hovered over the second key for a moment before she pressed and held it down.

Right to Voicemail.

It didn't surprise her.

She knew that her call wouldn't be answered.

But it didn't stop her from calling.

She waited for the automated machine to begin playing a melancholy smile crossing her face as the voice relayed the familiar message. She waited for the beep.

"Hi Mom, it's Kate. I'm just calling to say I miss you but you already knew that. I'm doing alright. I'm still a detective. Dad's doing better. He's been sober for ten years now. We're going to a baseball game next weekend," Kate paused as she felt the familiar sting of tears coming. "Mom I just want to let you know we got him. I'm sorry it took so long."

Kate looked around the room again. "I didn't have to do it alone this time. I had Rick with me. I wish you could have met him. He makes me laugh when I want to cry Mom. And his family is amazing."

"You're apart of that family too ya know," Rick's voice interrupted. "Hi Johanna," he added. "Your daughter is being modest again. Hey did you tell her yet?"

Kate rolled her eyes as she looked at him. She would never know how he knew about this but she loved him for it. "No I haven't."

"Can I?" He asked and continued at her nod. "We're finally married Johanna!" His glee barely contained within the apartment.

"Yes we are," Kate giggled.

"And..." Rick prompted.

"And you're going to be a Grandma, officially," Kate added. "But you probably already knew that."

"Oh! You think she can tell us what it is?" Rick asked excitedly. "Can you do that Johanna? Or is it a breech of contract?"

"Rick this isn't a negotiable deal."

"Maybe it is. I don't know how these this work."

"On that note, I'll talk with you later Mom. I love you."

"Love you too!" Rick added before she hung up. Kate simply rolled her eyes. Leave it to her husband to pull her out of her late night downward spiral.

"Thank you," She said sincerely.

"For what?"

"For just being you."


	5. Wishes

This is super short but it's just something that popped into my head. Everything happens for a reason, sometimes those reasons happen when you wish for them.

* * *

"Come on Kate. Why don't you believe in magic?" Rick whined as he followed her around the bull pen.

"Because I just don't Castle."

"Don't or won't?" He continued to pester her as they walked into the precinct.

Beckett paused and considered her answer. "A little of both I suppose. I don't want to believe in magic anymore and I won't allow myself to believe in it."

"But why?" Rick asked stunned. "Wouldn't it be cool to be able to wish for anything you wanted?"

"What if what you wanted wasn't what was best for you?" Beckett retorted and watched as confusion entered Castle's face. "What if you made a wish today for something small and it had huge consequences?"

"Like what?"

"Like I don't know, let's say your mother made it a rule that you have family dinner ever Saturday night-"

"My mother lives with me and she's rarely home on a Saturday night."

"This is hypothetical Castle. So your mom hypothetically wants to have dinner with you every Saturday night. You sometimes would rather go out with your friends or on a date. Pretty much do anything other than family dinner. So you make a wish one night to get out of having to do these stupid dinners. Next thing you know, your mom never shows up for dinner and you find out she's dead. No more family dinners ever again. Congratulations you got your stupid wish."

Rick was silent for a moment as he processed her story. "Oh Kate. I'm so sorry."

"Yeah well now you know why I don't believe in magic."


	6. Probable Cause

A/N: This is a little bit of what I thought of when I saw the promo for the next new episode 5x06. Only spoilers come from the promo that aired tonight.

"We have his finger prints are at the crime scene. He was seen on video buying jewelry from our victim. Kate you've got to look at the facts!" Esposito argued. "You are too close to this case. Let me run point on this one."

"I just don't believe that Castle could have done something like this," Kate stood her ground a didn't back down. She believed in the man sitting on the other side of the glass.

"Give me one good reason why we should be believe he isn't capable of murder. The man writes murder mysteries for a living!" Esposito threw his hands up in the air.

"I'll give you two reasons, Alison Tisdale and Chloe Whitman," Kate said before turning to the door and walking out of the room and right into the interrogation room.

* * *

"Where were you on Friday night around 11:30 Castle?" Kate asked. She knew she was too close but not questioning him herself would have raise suspicion within the precinct.

"I was with my girlfriend," Rick supplied with a small smile. He was doing his best to maintain their charade.

"All night?" Beckett circled the table like a lioness circling their prey. Something he had loved before was now something he was beginning to fear.

"No not all night. She came over at some point and stayed all night and part of the next day too."

"I'm going to need times Mr. Castle." Beckett's strict voice removed any smugness he had left. This was not the same woman he had seen just this morning.

"I don't remember what time she came over!" Rick looked into her eyes silently begging her to help him remember. "I think she worked until 11."

"And did she go right to your apartment at 11?"

"No, she had to stop at her place. She got there around 11:30."

"Are you sure?" Beckett gave him a chance to change his answer. "That's awfully generous giving her thirty minutes to leave work, make it across town to her apartment, then make it back across town to your apartment."

"So maybe she got there closer to 12?"

Beckett smirked. She had him right where she wanted him. The man before her was no longer her boyfriend but just another suspect. "Giving you just enough time to kill the victim and make it back to your apartment before she even got there. Just answer me this, what were you doing in the victim's jewelry store the night she was killed?"

Castle swallowed hard. He never imagined he would be accused of murder-again. After the second time, he thought he was done but having the accusations thrown at him a third time was unnerving. "I think I'd like my lawyer now."

_Kate's phone vibrated alerting her to a new message. Scanning the screen, she let out a small smile as Castle's words looked up at her._

_'I miss you. Can't wait until tonight.'_

_Quickly she typed out a message and pressed send. 'Only a few more hours xK'_

_'But I miss you now'_

_If she closed her eyes, she could almost hear the whine in his voice. It brought a bigger smile to her face as typed her response. 'I miss you too'_

Looking through the mirrored glass, this wasn't how Beckett envisioned their night going. Sure there might have been an interrogation but not an official one. Instead she was left looking at the man whom she thought she knew.

* * *

"Now Rick let's go over your night one more time," his lawyer prompted. "I want to know every little thing you did no matter how insignificant."

"Okay," Rick sighed before beginning his recap of the night."

"And why did you go to that jewelry store?"

Rick thought about the reason for a moment. He hadn't really had one at the time but maybe he did. "The store is new. I had seen their advertisements in the area for a few weeks. I think business wasn't what they were expecting. I wanted to see what they offered."

"And did you buy anything?"

"Yes, I bought a-" Rick cleared his throat. "I bought a ring."

"For your girlfriend?" At Rick's nod, his lawyer continued. "And who is your girlfriend?" His lawyer asked pen posed to write the information down.

"Ah that, I can't tell you." Rick folded his hands and pressed his lips together.

"Rick, this woman could be the only person who can testify and save you from prison. You do understand that, don't you?"

Rick let out a shallow laugh. "No she can't. Trust me."


	7. Scars

**A/N: Just a little something I've been thinking of. It's a strange feeling to have a scar where you didn't have one a few days ago.**

* * *

Rick sat down on the end of the hospital bed and looked at the once fearless detective. Her face was now ashened, her eyes tired but determined not to close. A welcome difference from just a few days ago.

"How are you feeling?"

Her smile was weak like the rest of her body. "I'm...here." It was the truth Late Beckett determined. After being shot at her mentor's funeral and being rushed to the hospital, there weren't many emotions that she could classify at the moment. Taking a deep breath, she winced at the movement.

"Everything okay?" Rick questioned seeing her in pain.

"It's strange," Kate's eyes were unfocused as she mentally tracked the sensation. "I know where on my chest I was shot but the area is numb. So I can feel it, but it's more like feeling the gown move over an area that has no feeling."

Rick gave her a small smile. "I'm sure over time the feeling will go away or become so natural you won't feel it."

"I hope you're right," Kate whispered.


End file.
